Minutes
The meeting was called to
order at 7:10 p.m. by Chairman John Boyd.
Pledge to the flag was
given.
Roll Call:
John Boyd; Greg Babbitt; Phil Hanford; Elizabeth G. Carr; and Carolyn Towsley.
Absent -. Arturo Pierera
Additions to the Agenda
– Under New Business 8) Old 6x6.
Approval of Agenda
– Greg Babbitt moved that the Agenda be approved as amended.
Supported by Phil Hanford.
Motion carried.
Approval of Minutes
– Greg Babbitt moved the minutes be approved as printed.
Supported by Carolyn Towsley.
Motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report
– Elizabeth Carr reviewed the Balance Sheets and Profit & Loss Budget vs Actual
reports for the Fire Department and First Responders.
She explained voided checks. Beth said she still has not order checks.
Firemen Checking $14,859.67– Firemen Fund $967.97
Independent Bank $10,152.64
Total Assets $25,980.28. As
of March 16, 2011. First Responders
Checking $12,979.29
Independent Bank $113.42
Total Assets $13,092.71. As
of March 16, 2011. John Boyd said
the report would be accepted as presented.
Approval of Bills
- Checks #4401-4425 plus bills
submitted for Phil Hanford for oil
- $329.70 and Palmer Outdoor Power Equipment for $150.00 for reprogramming of
pagers; and checks #1203-1206 for First Responders.
Greg Babbitt moved to
approve the bills. Carolyn Towsley
seconded. Roll Call: Greg Babbitt
Yes; Phil Hanford Yes; Elizabeth Carr Yes; Carolyn Towsley Yes; and John Boyd
Yes. Motion carried.
Public Comment
– Phil Hanford said that MTA says dates of meetings must be posted at site.
If a special meeting is being held it must be posted 18 hours in advance.
Ron Palmer will post the meeting dates.
Old Business
–
ISO Update
– An article had appeared in the Pioneer informing the community of the new
rating. Several present commented
that their insurance policy prices had gone down with the new rating.
High Speed Internet Update –Nothing
new. Frontier is still two months
out and Cosair should be two and one-half months out.
An air card has been tried but system was still slow.
So we will wait to see about these two companies when and if they become
available.
Tanker Truck Status
– A 6x6 has been offered. It is in
Marquette. It is about an ’87 with
less than 40,000 miles and a 2,000 gal tank.
It will need to be painted.
Once we paint it it will be titled to us and will be ours.
We need to look at it. If we
refuse this one, we will go to the bottom of the lottery list.
Carolyn Towsley moved to authorized fire members to go look at this truck
in Marquette within the next 21 days and decide if it will work for us.
Seconded by Elizabeth Carr.
Discussion was about having it hauled back.
But everyone felt comfortable that if it broke down we would have options
to get it back to Stanwood. Roll
Call: Roll Call: Greg Babbitt Yes; Phil Hanford Yes; Elizabeth Carr Yes; Carolyn
Towsley Yes; and John Boyd Yes.
Motion carried. Plans were set for
several to go on April 5.
Resolution for Payment and Approval of Bills
Carolyn Towsley read Resolution 2011-1 authorizing payment of bills by
the Austin Township Clerk and Austin Township Treasurer that are due prior to
Fire Board meetings and emergency expenditures to be authorized by the
Chairperson up to $500. Carolyn
Towsley moved to adopt Resolution 2011-1.
Phil Hanford seconded. Roll
Call: Roll Call: Greg Babbitt Yes; Phil Hanford Yes; Elizabeth Carr Yes; Carolyn
Towsley Yes; and John Boyd Yes.
Motion carried. It was suggested
that a letter be drafted to some of our current suppliers asking for 60 day
payment period.
Physicals
– MDOT Physicals are $75 at Occupational Wellness.
Greg Babbitt moved to have
the physicals done at Occupational Wellness and that they should be DOT
physicals without a card. Seconded
by Elizabeth Carr. Roll Call: Roll
Call: Greg Babbitt Yes; Phil Hanford Yes; Elizabeth Carr Yes; Carolyn Towsley
Yes; and John Boyd Yes. Motion
carried.
Property and Vehicle Insurance –
Carolyn Towsley reviewed the three proposals we
had received for property and liability insurance for the Fire Department.
The proposals were from Western Insurance for the PAR Plan; Schuberg’s
for the Selective Plan; and Western Insurance for the ESIP Plan.
Carolyn Towsley moved that we accept the ESIP plan if a proposal that is
at or below the verbal quote with the umbrella reduced from $4M to $1M is
presented on letterhead by 1:00 p.m., Thursday, March 17 or if not received we
will accept Schuberg’s Selective proposal.
Seconded by Elizabeth Carr.
Roll Call: Roll Call: Greg Babbitt Yes; Phil Hanford No; Elizabeth Carr Yes;
Carolyn Towsley Yes; and John Boyd Yes.
Motion carried.
New Sign –
The sign and plaque should be completed by the 1st
of April. ANR will then set a
ceremony.
Propane Status
– Carolyn Towsley said she had looked into buying a new tank and then costs of
refilling. All prices were about
the same for those who sell tanks.
It was suggested that companies be contacted to see what it would cost to have
another company’s tank and what their lock-in cost for propane would be.
This needs to be presented at the May meeting.
New Business
–
Settlement of 2010-2011 Budget –
Elizabeth Carr reviewed the overages of the
various accounts and made recommendations on how to balance the individual
accounts. The grant and transfer of
money for the new rescue truck were not originally anticipated for this budget,
so these adjustments need to be shown on the balance sheet.
Concern was expressed that there may not be enough money to have a
balanced budget for this year. Greg
Babbitt made the motion to allow Elizabeth Carr to take $1,000 out of the Fire
Department’s CD to balance the 2010-11 budget on 3/31/111 if needed.
Seconded by Phil Hanford.
Roll Call: John Boyd Yes; Greg Babbitt Yes; Phil Hanford Yes; Elizabeth
Carr Yes; and Carolyn Towsley Yes.
Motion carried. This will be
reviewed at the May meeting to see if the townships need to reimburse the
withdrawal since it had been agreed that if wages went up we would help them
out.
2011-2012 Budget
– The new budget was developed similar to last
year’s. Insurance was reduced and
wages increased. Accounts for
Grants under Income and Capital Outlay under Expenses need to be created for any
possible incomes and expenses in these transactions occur next year.
Carolyn Towsley moved to accept the 2011-2012 budget as amended.
Seconded by Greg Babbitt.
Roll Call: John Boyd Yes; Greg Babbitt Yes; Phil Hanford Yes; Elizabeth
Carr Yes; and Carolyn Towsley Yes.
Motion carried.
Fire Chief’s Report
– All radios and pagers have been reprogrammed.
A new pump needs to be purchased for the air compressor.
The pump Ron Palmer had was bad.
DNR is going to be putting out a notice of a Burn Barrel Ban.
The ban was to go into effect April 1, but was postponed.
Safety Report
– There have been no reported injuries.
Training was conducted on ice rescue training.
Maintenance Report
– Grass rig 3-31 is in service with the new skid unit.
All equipment is fully functional.
Compliance and Deadlines –
John Boyd stressed that there is a need to keep
the Board posted if there is ever a need for assistance to meet compliance
deadlines or any other deadlines.
The Board is here to assist when needed.
Everything is under control now with Ron Palmer and Alan Brennan
alternating the uploading of the State reports on a weekly basis.
First Responders Report
No reported injuries. Calls have
been low; 9.6 average. Priority
calls are going to Alpha 3 if they are non-life threatening.
The State is talking about changing the title of MFR to EMR.
This will be a future topic.
Old 6x6 –
Need to get things arranged to have access to
this vehicle. Phil Hanford said
that a code will be issued to the Fire Department to access the alarm system and
that he will arrange things in the Mecosta Township barn so that the 6x6 can be
easily accessed.
Brief Public Comment
– Elizabeth Carr mentioned that the MSHDA information needs to be posted.
Ron Palmer said that they need a list of commercial business from our
areas given to them so they can prepare their plans.
Phil Hanford said that
Mecosta Township has researched information about a Fire Department billing
plan. He will be sending
information to us to review.
Announcements
– The next meeting will be May 18, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. at the Fire Hall.
Correspondence
None.
Adjournment
- At 10:00 p.m. John Boyd declared the meeting closed.
Submitted by,
Carolyn Towsley, Secretary